


What is a gesture worth?

by sarcasticwithindifference



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Definitely Fluffy, M/M, does kevin price ever shut up??, just a cute lil idea i had for a pride month fic, the answer is no he does not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 00:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15107897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasticwithindifference/pseuds/sarcasticwithindifference
Summary: It’s June and Kevin is damned if he’s going to not find a way to celebrate for Connor.(Alternatively titled "The One Where Connor Acts Put Together And Kevin Doesn’t Know When To Stop Talking," but really that’s just every day in District Nine.)





	What is a gesture worth?

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys!! this is my first fic so i'd really appreciate any feedback you have either on here on on tumblr @punkrockelders!!! i really hope you all enjoy this!! and thank you to everyone on tumblr who sent me encouragement!!

“Knock, knock!” Elder Price leans against Elder McKinley’s doorway with an obnoxious grin on his face. Elder McKinley turns around in his desk chair where he’s filling out paperwork for their district. His desk is neat even in the midst of working and his half of the room is cleaner than Elder Price’s has been since their district got “demoted.” Elder McKinley doesn’t say anything, just raises his eyebrows and looks at Elder Price expectantly for what he’s about to say.

“I was just wondering if maybe you’d want to go to the market with me.”  
Elder McKinley remains silent, eyebrows now furrowed as if to ask “What for?”.  
“Nabulungi said she’d take my place tonight for cooking duty if I went to the market for her. She needs some stuff for a play she wants to put on for the kids in the village.”

His voice goes up at the end, making the statement almost sound like a question, and something tells Elder McKinley that Elder Price isn’t telling the whole truth. He knows when Elder Price is in the middle of a scheme and this seems like one of those times. He lets it slide though because his smile seems like one of genuine excitement as opposed to the borderline devious grin he usually wears when he’s up to no good. After all, it’ll be better if Elder McKinley goes to the market with him so he can supervise. 

“Do you mind if I finish up this last bit of paperwork? It’ll take me a couple minutes and then I can meet you in the living room.” It’s not like he had mentally agreed to whatever it was that Elder Price wanted the moment he showed up at Elder McKinley’s room. Of course, he doesn’t play favorites. That would be wrong of him as a district leader. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Elder McKinley would gladly give up his free afternoon to spend it doing whatever it is that Elder Price is hiding behind the grin on his face. Or he guesses he’s technically agreeing to be an accomplice, but he figures he can worry about the specifics later.

“Perfect! Thanks Elder McKinley!” Elder Price says, turning on his heel to not so subtly run into the kitchen. Elder McKinley chuckles to himself as he turns back to his work. One of these days, he thinks, Elder Price is going to be the death of him.

There is a little bit of commotion going on in the living room. Most of the elders are in there holding conversations and stealing glances into the kitchen to see how dinner is going. Elder Price thinks that there might be an air of excitement in the room, but maybe he’s just speaking for himself.

“Where’s Elder McKinley? Did he say he’d go with you?” Nabulungi asks when Elder Price enters the kitchen. She’s already halfway done with dinner by the looks of it. “He’s finishing up some paperwork and then he said he’d be out,” he shrugs, trying to play it cool. He’s definitely not trying to hide the fact that he’s super nervous about his whole plan. “That’s wonderful!” Nabulungi exclaims and Elder Price wonders what he’d ever do without her here in Kitguli. He’d surely lose his mind without her support and guidance. Plus, he’d never be able to actualize this idea of his tonight if it weren’t for her.

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the wall of the kitchen that interrupts Elder Price’s train of thought. “Ready to go Elder Price?” and just like that, Elder McKinley has him all flustered. “Oh, yeah! Yeah, I’m ready!” Elder Price sputters.

The two walk outside into the middle of a hot summer day and Elder Price can’t tell if its the heat or his nerves that’s making his palms sweat a little. He wipes his hands on his pants and hopes Elder McKinley doesn’t notice.

“So what all do we need from the market? What kind of play are we putting on?” Elder McKinley asks and it seems innocent enough. If Elder Price could slap himself in that moment, he would because crap he forgot to come up with a plan. At least he’s managed to get him out of the hut for a little. All he has to do is buy some time.

“Well, Nabulungi knows it’ll be something from the Book of Arnold, just y’know, a little less vulgar,” he says and both boys laugh. “But since she hasn’t picked out a story she just said to be on the look-out for some nice fabric or some generic props. Anything Book of Arnold esque.” Elder Price hopes he sounded casual because he definitely pulled that out of somewhere the sun doesn’t shine.

Elder McKinley nods thoughtfully and Elder Price mentally pats himself on the back for pulling that off.

Sundown is approaching and shadows lay long on the ground. The market is understandably vacant of customers as many vendors have packed up for the day. There is, however, a couple of booths open with a few odds and ends. The Elders make their way past a few booths, thoughtfully looking over the miscellaneous items in front of them.

“See anything?” Elder McKinley asks, running his thumb over a length of red fabric in his hand. Truthfully, Elder Price has no clue if any of this stuff would work. He can’t let on to that now though. “Nah, I don’t think so,” Elder Price says, picking up a piece of fruit from the next cart over. “Mango?” Elder McKinley smiles and nods and Elder Price tosses him one before grabbing some fruit for himself. He’s fishing some shillings out of his pocket when Elder McKinley comes up behind him. “We should probably get going. It’s almost dark and dinner should be ready soon,” he suggests and Elder Price can just barely feel the other Elder’s breath hot on the back of his neck. If he were any closer, Elder Price might think something is up, but he quickly shakes the thought away. He doesn’t need his mind wandering those places right now.

Their walk back begins in silence, save for the familiar symphony of bugs as they start to come out for the night. Unsurprisingly, Elder Price is the first to break that silence. “Do you miss anything about home in the summer?” he asks, taking a bite out of his mango. Elder McKinley turns to him to answer, his quizzical expression quickly turning into a smile as he begins to laugh. It’s by no means a deep belly laugh, but it’s undeniably more than a small chuckle.

Elder Price stops abruptly, “Wait, what? What’s so funny?” He would normally sound much more concerned about someone laughing at him. However, this someone is Elder McKinley and he can’t help but think that his laugh possibly one of the best things he’s ever heard in his entire life.

Elder McKinley realizes Elder Price is no longer walking next to him and turns around so they’re facing each other. “You might be the poster child for Latter Day Saints,” Elder McKinley smirks, “but you’re also the poster child for messy eaters.”  
“I clean up well though.”  
“Yeah, speaking of that.”  
Elder McKinley reaches out and wipes away the mango juice from Elder Price’s chin. He holds his hand there for just a moment too long, barely long enough for Elder Price to be sure that Elder McKinley was in fact staring at his mouth.

“So what was it you asked me?” Elder McKinley questions as the two begin walking side by side again. “I asked if you miss anything about home in the summer. Like vacations or swimming or going to the fair or something?”  
“Truthfully, I don’t miss much about home. I consider District Nine my family more than I do my relatives.”

Elder Price’s heart sinks a little hearing that. Of course, he’s glad that Elder McKinley considers them family and that he isn’t homesick. The thought that Elder McKinley doesn’t have any particularly enjoyable memories to look back on is what bothers him.

“Oh come on, Elder! There’s got to be something back home that you don’t have here in Uganda,” Elder Price playfully hits Elder McKinley’s shoulder.  
“I guess I do miss the lake a bit. We’d go down there every summer and I’d spend every moment I could swimming. There’s not really enough water around here to swim in though.”  
“See! I knew there was something!” Elder Price nearly shouts and Elder McKinley smiles that soft smile that Elder Price loves so much.  
“Do you miss anything, Elder Price?”  
“Yeah I do. I miss going on vacation. We went to Orlando a few times and I loved it there, but more than anything I just loved escaping somewhere else for a while. I miss the excitement, you know?”  
“Well, I’d say you and Elder Cunningham brought a lifetime of excitement when you came to Uganda.”  
“I’m choosing to believe you meant that as a compliment.”

As the mission hut comes into view, Elder Price’s nerves return. The lights are off, the signal Nabulungi and Elder Price decided on so he would know everything inside was going as planned. That doesn’t stop him from worrying though. There’s no way Elder McKinley has caught on to his surprise, right? He made a silent prayer to Heavenly Father that everything works out as anticipated.

Elder Price makes sure he gets to the door first. As he lets himself in, he hears Elder McKinley behind him make a comment about it being dark in the mission hut, but he’s too nervous to pay much attention. Elder Price flips the lightswitch on and the mission hut erupts in cheers of “Surprise!” as Elder McKinley stands in the doorway, completely in awe. All of the Elders and Nabulungi are gathered in the living room. Behind them, he can see food laid out in the kitchen and dining area. He spots roast chicken, vegetable stew, chapati, fresh bananas and pineapples, and more that he can’t quite make out from a distance. The smell is absolutely incredible and he knows just from looking that this is the most well-rounded meal the Elders will have eaten since their district was dissolved. But behind all of that is the thing that has Elder McKinley completely taken aback. On the wall, there is a full-sized pride flag.

“We’re throwing you a party for pride month!” Elder Cunningham very nearly shouts. “There’s a bunch of actual, good food for dinner that Nabulungi cooked and we have games we can play while we eat snacks!” Elder McKinley can’t be mad though. He’s incredibly touched. “Thank you for all of this, really. It means a lot,” and the real, genuine smile on his face proves that, despite his ineloquency. “You should know it was all Elder Price’s idea,” Nabulungi mentions. Elder McKinley turns to see Elder Price smiling sheepishly at him. He goes to thank him but is interrupted as Elder Cunningham grabs Elder McKinley’s arm yelling, “Let’s eat! You get to make the first plate!”  
Elder McKinley thinks it truly is a wonderful party. There’s plenty of edible food and the Elders thank Nabulungi over and over for being a much better cook than any of them. They are all scattered throughout the living room and dining area, eating sim-sims and playing whatever board or card games they brought from home. Elder McKinley even plays a few rounds of Canasta with Elder Price against Elder Cunningham, and Nabulungi. They never win, of course, and Elder Price keeps getting overly competitive, complaining that it’s a “disaster” or it’s “rigged”. Elder McKinley doesn’t mind though, he just laughs because he’s having fun. Elder Price is also incredibly cute when he gets competitive, but he’d never admit that out loud.

Around nine o’clock, the boys start to retire for the night. They know they don’t technically have to be in bed by ten anymore, but some old habits die hard. As the rest of the elders abandon their card games on the floor for pajamas in their beds, Elder McKinley lingers behind. He had managed to secure a spot curled up on the corner of the couch, reading one of the few books he brought with him to Uganda.

Elder McKinley wishes each boy goodnight as they get up and leave. He makes excuses about how “Oh, the book is getting really good!” and “I just can’t bear to stop reading now!” just so he can be the last person awake. When Elder McKinley is finally alone, he puts down his book and gazes up at the pride flag. His pride flag.

He’d never celebrated pride month before. He didn’t even realize it was already June and it even took him a few more moments after that to realize that June was pride month. But here he was. He has others who are proud of him and want him to be proud of himself too. This was the first time he could say that and it be true. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as he thought. After all, how could he be if all of these boys supported him? Maybe Elder McKinley had been too harsh on himself. By no means did this mean he’d be completely open about his sexuality. But he thought that perhaps he could stop going out of his way to avoid it so much. Hopefully the boys realized how grateful he was for this whole night, even though he tried to keep his calm and collected exterior up. Elder McKinley wondered that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a gesture worth?

A cough from across the room startles him. Elder McKinley quickly wipes at his eyes before looking over to see Elder Price leaning against the entryway. Elder Price wonders if maybe he was wiping away tears.  
“Oh, good evening, Elder. I thought you had gone to bed.”  
“Nah, you know me. Late to bed, late to rise.”

Elder Price laughs as he sits down next Elder McKinley on the couch. For a moment, both of them say nothing as they look at the flag. It’s a rather nice moment actually, but Elder Price is too eager to hear what Elder McKinley thought of everything to let it go on any longer. “So what did you think?” he asks, gesturing around the room despite the fact that their makeshift party is no longer going on. “It was great and incredibly thoughtful. Thank you for this, Elder,” is all that Edler McKinley says. Mostly because he doesn’t know what else to say, even though his mind is racing. He actually felt relaxed tonight. He felt lighter somehow. Less like a district leader and more like a friend. He’s still taking everything in, still making sure this wasn’t all a dream.

Elder Price breathes a sigh of relief, “Oh thank goodness, I’m so glad you liked it!” And then he begins to ramble because, of course, he can’t just help himself sometimes. “So I was going to see if I could get a pride flag shipped in but then I thought ‘Well, maybe it’s not the best idea considering our mail doesn’t arrive intact half the time anyway. Don’t wanna risk it!’ - Plus, the mail service here can be kinda unreliable - So I asked Nabulungi to help me make a flag and we went to the market to pick out fabric which is why some of them are patterned - Sorry about that - And she sewed most of it but I really wanted to help - So she finally gave in and let me sew the last stripe on - Y’know, in case you were wondering why it was kinda crooked.”

Elder Price sheepishly points to the flag. Elder McKinley couldn’t care less how the flag looked, but he can’t get a word in edgewise because Elder Price keeps going. “But then I had to get you out of the hut while everyone set up the surprise so that’s why I dragged you to the market - The play is happening though - You know I don’t lie - But I didn’t really know what to do once we got there - I didn’t get that far in my planning because I was too focused on making everything perfect,” Elder Price finally takes a breath.

Elder McKinley uses this as his chance to finally interject, “Kevin Price, have I ever told you how amazing you are?”  
“Oh, um, no. You haven’t even really called me Kevin before.”  
“I guess you’re right.”  
“Well, Connor,” Kevin emphasizes the Elder’s first name and the other boy smiles, “you know why I did this right?” Connor just cocks his head and furrows his brows, asking a silent question. 

Kevin seems to go a little red, and just like that, it seems he has another chronic case of word vomit.  
“It’s because I care about you! I-I mean we all care about you, obviously. But I couldn’t do something like this for the others. Not that you’re not special! Because you are! I just… wanted to do something special for you… Because you’re special to me…”  
Kevin trails off when he sees Connor grinning at him. He smiles back, “Happy pride, Connor.” And before Connor can even react, Kevin has another gesture for him. He leans in and kisses Connor right on the mouth.

And Connor’s mind goes quiet, but in the best possible way. For once, he isn’t over-thinking. Isn’t worried about the consequences. Isn’t worried about being serious. Isn’t worried about the ifs, the ands, the buts. For once, he isn’t looking at Kevin and thinking I want more, more, more, more, more. 

All he knows is that he’s sitting in the mission hut living room. It’s June, there is a giant gay pride flag hanging from the wall, and Kevin Price has just kissed him. Handsome, amazing Kevin Price.

“Happy pride, Kevin,” is all Connor can reply. He’s definitely blushing, but so is Kevin so he doesn’t care enough to hide it.

If Connor felt light before, he could probably quite literally float back to his room now. And he almost feels he is as they walk through the living room arm to arm, fingertips very nearly touching, hands close enough to hold but neither moving to do so. They walk in a comfortable silence until they reach their bedrooms. It seems they are going to bed without another word until Kevin turns around at his door.  
“Goodnight, Connor.”  
“Goodnight, Kevin. And for the record, you’re special to me too.”  
The boys smile at each other warmly before retiring to their respective rooms.

Connor is careful not to wake Elder Thomas as he changes out of his clothes. His skin feels much less tight as he curls up in bed. His mind is full of thoughts of Kevin Price as he replays the night. How he rambles when he’s nervous. How he isn’t great at hiding things but would never give up a secret. How he manages to make Connor feel like nothing matters except what’s in front of him right at that very second. How he went through all this trouble just to make Connor feel special.

As Connor drifts off to sleep, he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he could return Kevin’s gesture.


End file.
